WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT?

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

The word "Spirit" is used to describe the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just an emotion or feeling. Neither is the Holy Spirit a "thing" or "it." HE IS A PERSON.

He is also referred to in the Bible as the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ. To live fruitful lives for Christ, Christians must be acquainted with the Holy Spirit.

Can anyone describe or explain the . . . .

1. Attributes of the Holy Spirit
2. Purpose of the Holy Spirit
3. Being Filled with the Holy Spirit
4. Manifestation of the Holy Spirit

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

Eccl,

I am aware that the Trinity is not mentioned in scripture and it is not a biblical word. This is a doctrine that is not explicit in the NT even though it is often said that it is implicit in the OT and explicit in the NT.

However, this topic has been thoroughly discussed/debated in previous threads and I do not intend to rehash those arguments. Therefore, if you do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity - so be it. I am not offended and I hope you are not as well.

[Hezekiah Ben Israel]

You don't know what you are talking about. You didn't read my thread.

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

Hezekiah,

I know exactly what I am talking about which is why I do not need to read your thread.

[Hezekiah Ben Israel]

Wow. Why post?

[Zealot X]

Who or What is the HOLY SPIRIT?

This is easy but we confuse ourselves with theology and church politics. The main problem is that most of us here do not understand the culture of the Israelites so when you hear "spirit" you think of what spirit means in modern English. "spirit" has other meanings however that are pretty much depreciated. I'm going to share what I believe regarding the spirit but keep an open mind because this is probably very different from what you have been taught for years. And especially as many times things are repeated it has a very strong reenforcement effect on the mind that makes you believe you know it more than other things that are less familiar. Let me start with a quick quote from Yeshua.

John 4:24
G-d is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

This is saying a lot but people rarely take notice the way that you take notice when you actually have the spirit and aren't relying on your pastor and church to tell you what's up and what's down. I'm going to ask 2 sets of rhetorical questions. Both should be obvious but aren't.

Is G-d a G-d? Yes. Stupid question.
Is G-d almighty? Yes.

Alright, that was easy. If I say who is "THE ALMIGHTY"? You should have some idea. If I just say "who is G-d" well you should be thinking of the same person because these are titles/attributes that both describe him. A different person is not created just because you use a different title or a COMBINATION of titles. Who is "G-d Almighty"? Is that different from G-d? Or different from "The Almighty"? No. I'm just talking about the same being in a slightly different way. Got it?

Next set of questions.

Is G-d a spirit? Well according to John 4:24 quoted above, the answer would be yes.
Is G-d holy? uh oh.... you should be able to see where this is going. It's going to the same place that the first set of questions went. Unless you are willing to tell me that G-d Almighty is not holy then what you are actually telling me is that G-d Almighty IS the holy spirit.

Now how many got lost?

The word "holy" means "Set apart". One of the reasons why I chuckle when people talk about making everyday holy as a means of getting around keeping the sabbath is that in order to be "set apart" it has to actually be "set apart" from the rest. If you are making it the same as other days then you are making it COMMON. Another word for common is "profane" (which is where "profanity" comes from). The same holds true with the spirit of G-d. There are BILLIONS if not TRILLIONS of spirits if we are talking about spirits in the literal sense. Spirits can also be ATTITUDES but I may get into that later. Right now I want you to understand that titles were used in order to "SET APART" YHWH from other "gods". In other words.... "to distinguish". If you ONLY know of G-d as "a spirit" then how do you separate HIS spirit from other spirits? Easy... You add titles. That's how it works.

cont'd

[Zealot X]

Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the waters.

In Genesis 1:2 people believe it is talking about the 3rd member of a trinity because they have read BACKWARDS. If you read backwards your understanding will also be backwards. There is no explanation in Genesis 1 about any such idea as a trinity. The writer is simply using "Spirit of G-d" to "SET HIM APART" from other spirits. The title is associated with it so you know who that spirit belongs to. What is this spirit? In this case the best way I can perhaps describe it is that you and I have a physical presence because we are physically here. We have a body that is the biomechanical shell for our spirits. A spirit without a physical body is a spiritual presence. Spirits are spoken of as "it" because "it" is something that BELONGS to G-d. He speaks of it as a thing.

Acts 2:17
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith G-d, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

"MY SPIRIT". If I say "my pencil" that is a thing that is mine. If I say "my body" then my BODY is not me but a thing that belongs to me. Understand? Yeah... this may require a little deeper thought. A few more examples. "my hand" is a thing that belongs to me. If it gets cut I don't say "he got cut". I say "it got cut" because it is not me but a thing that belongs to me. Take any aspect of yourself and you are dealing with an "it", not a "person".

Genesis 6:3
And YHWH said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

This isn't something that only works for G-d. I hate when people do that. They bend the rules in order to fit their beliefs about G-d and their excuse is "well G-d can do anything". I'll tell you why that's foolish. It is foolish because if that was the case YHWH would not use the same word that means this very different thing in every other case. He speaks in our language so that we can understand. That's why you should pay attention to singular and plural and don't try to bend the rules of the language just because "G-d can do miracles". That's not how it works. Why YHWH says "my spirit" it is not unlike when human beings said the same thing. If it was, the same word would not be used. So you need to understand how humans used the word so that you can correctly apply it and not take it out of context.

Genesis 41:8
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

Pharaoh's spirit was troubled. "IT", his spirit, was troubled. Pharaoh's spirit was not another person or persona. It is ridiculous to separate the Father from his own spirit and make his spirit a separate G-d when you cannot do the same for Pharaoh's spirit.

That's like if I say G-d is a Father. Does that mean there's a new G-d called "The Father" now? Or is it the SAME G-D that you always knew (or that many of you don't know because you don't know enough about him and think you know everything) who is also a Father because the attribute is fitting.

Understand that a lot of words, like spirit, are multi-purpose.

Genesis 41:38
And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of G-d is

Pharaoh, although not a Harvard theology major (and better that he wasn't), understood that the spirit of G-d was something that could be INSIDE a person. This is what you'd call in Christianity "the holy spirit", that presence of G-d that can be shared with any and all humans simultaneously. Of course it goes deeper than that but we have to deal with people at the level they're at. But if you do want to go beyond the surface level you would do well to understand that we are all spirits which is energy and consciousness. Beyond the physical level we are connected. Consciously we are not ONE though. Yeshua was conscious, awake, aware, and ONE with YHWH through his spirit that connects us all. And no it isn't because Yeshua was the sun god "Jesus". This connection, although special, is not unique at all. It is the SAME connection he wanted all his followers to have with the FATHER who he called the Father so that we could recognize ourselves as his children and learn to be part of his family once again. YHWH doesn't have 1 son. Yeshua's distinction as the "only begotten" has more to do with being born in his image and after his likeness.... which is spiritual, not physical.

cont'd

[Zealot X]

And the spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the waters.

where is G-d the Father? Where is G-d the Son? No location is given. We destroy the bible through our horribly misguided interpretations. Genesis starts off by saying "In the beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth". People say "oh but elohim is plural" That's because they don't know ENOUGH about Hebrew. Elohiym is not always plural. Elohiym is not what YHWH was first called. He was first called EL SHADDAI.

Exodus 6:3
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name YHWH was I not known to them.

EL is singular folks. When you go from el shaddai to elohiym what you are actually doing is capturing the meaning of el shaddai in one word. Elohiym is equal to El Shaddai. "ALMIGHTY" is the possession of, not just a plurality of might, but ALL might. So it goes further than its translation "mighty one. And if anyone wants to argue this elohiym thing feel free because I can show you several cases where it was used in the singular that cannot be disputed. How do we know when its singular and when its plural? Context. TONS of Hebrew words are multi-purpose. How do you know which definition to use where? CONTEXT. If each word only had one definition then I guess you could go through the bible like a long coded message and ignore what's happening and what's actually being said. However, many words have multiple meanings.

When Genesis 1 says "And G-d said" how many people are talking? From the very beginning it establishes the fact that there is ONE G-d.

http://bible.worthwhile.com/bible.php?b=gen&c=1&v=0&d=1...

In verse 2 where it talks about the ruwach elohiym is ruwach singular or plural? It is singular; the single spirit of a SINGLE Creator. Your brains may have been conditioned to misread the bible in order to accept the trinity but if you can understand these simple things you can break through that programming.

Genesis 1 is not a god-choir speaking in unison. It is one G-d. ONE G-d created the heaven and the earth. Need more proof? I'm not the one saying it. What does Hezekiah say?

2 Kings 19:15
And Hezekiah prayed before YHWH, and said, O YHWH G-d of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the G-d, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

Hezekiah knew that YHWH ALONE was the creator. What does Nehimiah say?

Nehemiah 9:6
Thou, even thou, art YHWH alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

I purposely sought texts that had the word "alone" because if you understand that word "alone" then you have no argument against what I'm telling you. You can't be "alone" in a room with 2 other people. you might FEEL alone but you aren't alone. But why should we believe Hezekiah and Nehemiah. They were only prophets, right? Tell you what.... what does YHWH say for himself?

Isaiah 44:24
Thus saith YHWH, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am YHWH that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

ALL THINGS. Not "some things". ALL THINGS. All things were made by YHWH "ALONE". He did it all by himself. Any idea that there were 2 or 3 that tag-teamed creation is utterly false and not according to scripture. According to scripture YHWH is the only true G-d. Period.

Genesis 6:7
And YHWH said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

[Zealot X]

ONE G-d talking. ONE G-d saying that he created man and that he will destroy man. G-d is not a man that he can walk on the face of the deep with legs. Genesis says he "moved" over the face of the waters. It is describing a spiritual presence as best it can in our language. There is no new or separate speaker that is introduced. It just says "And G-d said" because it had already introduced the speaker. The Spirit of G-d IS G-d's spirit. So G-d is there, he speaks, and he creates. Done. Done. And done. This is why Yeshua is called the only begotten son of G-d and most people connect that to the Father and not to some other person called the "holy ghost". Who was Yeshua begotten by according to the gospels?

Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Yeshua the messiah was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

note: the rendering "holy ghost" ONLY appears in the NT. It is never called "ghost" in the Scriptures.

Matthew 3:17
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Who's speaking now? The holy spirit? or the Father? Let's try another chapter.

Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Here it is again.... "my spirit".. Who does that spirit belong to?

Luke 3:22
And the Holy "Ghost" descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Again, who's speaking? The shape like a dove? Or a voice from heaven? Who'se the Father? Do we need to ask Maury for a paternity test? Obviously, the spirit is pretty much anywhere the Father is. Go figure. You have never seen YHWH somewhere and his spirit not been there. Obviously, Yeshua was conceived by the spirit of G-d but was this the 3rd person of some trinity? I have one more verse that may help you.

Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My G-d, my G-d, why hast thou forsaken me?

This probably doesn't sound familiar to you. But read this.

Psalm 22
1 My G-d, my G-d, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
...
8 He trusted on YHWH that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Why would he ask YHWH (who he's talking to) why he has forsaken him? Didn't YHWH say that he would put HIS SPIRIT upon him? He was connected to YHWH through that spirit.

YAHWEH = THE FATHER = THE HOLY SPIRIT = G-d ALMIGHTY (EL Shaddai) = Elohiym

You don't have multiple speakers introduced. You don't have multiple locations referenced. You don't have paternity issues. You don't have any problems when you understand that the holy spirit is not another god. IT IS the spirit of G-d. It is the Father's spirit.

fin

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

Thank you for your commentary Zealot.

As for me, I am not at all confused about THE HOLY SPIRIT, and I am fully aware that there are many other spirits, both holy and unholy. This particular thread is about the 3rd person of the Triune God = God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

[Zealot X]

are you saying that there are other holy spirits? who are they? and why is there no distinction? How do we know which holy spirit is which?

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

ZealotX,

Holy means to be set apart for a religious purpose; a holy place. This would certainly differentiate the ministering spirits (angels) of God from the demonic spirits.

Now for the record, if you want to enter into a long drawn out discussion on angels, please set up a thread; meanwhile, let's stick with the topic on this thread.

Peace in Jesus

[Zealot X]

we're not talking about "holy spirits" and I checked. The words "holy spirits" do not appear in the bible. When it talks about a holy spirit it is singular. So then is there really a such concept on the table as angels being "holy spirits"? My question was if this was the case how would you distinguish the one who the bible calls the "holy spirit" from any other spirit that you believe to be holy? What distinction is there?

In other words, if there are many demons and the bible kept referring to one that it only called "the demon" how would you know which of the many demons it was referring to? It could refer to different demons every single time. How would you know it was one? Where is the distinction? You understand what I'm asking you now? If G-d is a spirit then I can easily tell that it is being distinguished from other spirits when it is called "the spirit of G-d". That's like saying the coat of Chaplain Harris or Chaplain Harris's coat. It's the same thing. It's your coat.

But when we are talking about the Holy Spirit why does this have to be a different entity just because there is a difference in the TITLE? Who was called the "Holy One" of Yisrael?

Isaiah 1:4 - Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken YHWH, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Isaiah 10:20 - And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

We can see that YHWH was ALSO called the "HOLY ONE"..... Again.... YHWH is a spirit..... YHWH is the HOLY ONE...... but if I say Holy Spirit I must be talking about someone else??

You wont find another spirit that is holy. But YHWH, by definition, would have to be a holy spirit because he was called holy and he is a spirit. This is no more difficult than 2+2. I'm not asking you to go bulldoze your church. I'm only asking to connect 2 dots that are obviously related.

Shalom